Rod-mill



I (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. ROBERTS.

ROD MILL.

"N0. 392,365. Patented Nov. 6, 1888.

INVENTOR. W 4 0mm WlTNES SES.

Nv PETERS. FhnloL'flMgnphm Wishinghn. i (i (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. ROBERTS.

ROD MILL.

41 6/4 I 714 J b INVENTOR. WW.

WITNESSES.

N PETERS. Phnlwumo n hu, Washinglon. D. a

-UNITED STAT S PATENT Fries.

HENRY ROBERTS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

ROD-MILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,365, dated November6, 1888.

Application filed May 12, 1888. Serial No. 273,709. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY ROBERTs,.of Pittsburg, in the county ofAllegheny'and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Rod-Mills; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof.

In rolling metal rods in a mill as now commonly practiced it iscustomary to employ a series of trains of rolls set in line with eachother and to pass the metal back and forth between these rolls. As themetal is reduced in diameter and increased in length, there is alwaysdifficulty in controlling it and preventing it from kinking, especiallyso when it is attempted to roll more than one rod at a time in a singlemill. For this purpose it has been usual to employ boys, who stand withhooks opposite to the rolls and guide the elongating metal loop, with aview of preventing it from kinking or injuring the workmen. The work ofthese boys is very dangerous and requires the closest attention, andtherefore the wages paid them are quite high. Besides this, the leastneglect on their part is apt to cause the kinking of the rod, and whenthis happens the delay in its passage through the mill chills the metaland unfits it for use, necessitating the cutting of it into pieces forscrap.

The object of my invention is to diminish these evils and to providemeans for guiding the metal loop as the rod is passing from one set ofrolls to the next.

To this end it consists, mainly, in the combination, with two sets ofrolls arranged on different lines of feed, of an inclined mill-floorcommon to said rolls, whether the same be used either with or without anoverfeed regulator leading from the rolls to the inclined floor of themill, or with or without a guide arranged on the floor, as shown by mein the I drawings, and the inclination of the door being in a directiontransversely to the axes of theirolls and being such that as the metalloop elongates it shall be forced by the action of the primary rollsaway from the rolls down the inclined floor, on which it travels freely,thus preventing kinking and lessening the labor necessary to be employedin guiding it.

Iam aware that in Letters Patent No. 351,836 there is described arod-mill wherein the rod is passed. between pairs of rolls separatedfrom each other and set so that the rod shall pass in a straight linefrom one pair to the next, between which pairs of rolls is a guide seton the apex of a table, which is located intermediately between therolls, and is inclined laterally in both directions from the guide, thepurpose being, as stated by the patentee, that the incline of thetablelaterally permits the gravity or weight of the overfeed of the rodto act in assisting its distribution over the surface, and

to obviate tangling of the loops as they are drawn in by the rolls ofthe second or supplementary train. This device is, however, quitedifferent from mine, because, whereas I incline the floor transverselyto the axes of the pairs of rolls and use the motive force of theprimary rolls as a direct agent in the propulsion of the loop down theincline, the incline of the floor of the patent referred to,beinglateral,does not make use of any such positive propelling force, but, asstated by the patentee, it depends for its efficiency only on thegravity of the overfeed.

Bythe expression .rolls havingdifferent lines of feed as used by me Iintend to designate a mill wherein the wire as it emerges from one pairof rolls is reflexed and brought back in a loop to the next pair ofrolls, thus distinguishing it from a mill wherein the rod passes inadirect course from one pair of rolls to the next succeeding pair. Itdoes not necessarily mean that the adjacent pairs of rolls shall havetheir axes literally in the same line or driven by the same power-shaft.

Second. My invention consists,broadly,in a channel or guide sunk in thefloor of the mill, said channel or guide being open to permit freelateral escape or overfeed of the rod, the purpose of the guide being todirect the wire.

Third. In such a guide in connection with two pairs of rolls arranged,as abovestated, to guide the primary branch of the wire loop. Heretoforesuch guides have been set upon the floor of the mill and their sideshave necessarily been above the level of the floor. The effect issometimes to bend the wire rod as it extends over the side of the guide,and thus to cause kinking. When the guide is sunk in the floor this isnot the case.

Fourth. My invention consistsin amill-fioor inclined and provided withsets of rolls, as before stated, said inclined mill-floor having a guideadapted to direct the course of the primary branch of the loop as ittravels over the floor.

Fifth. In a guide of any form which is both downwardly inclined from therolls and also obliquely inclined for the purpose of better guiding thecourse of the loop.

Sixth. In the combination, with two sets of rolls arranged on differentlines of feed, of a single branch guide trough or channel having a flatbottom arranged on or in the milHloor, and extending from the deliveryside of the primary set of rolls over the floor in a transversedirection from the rolls, whereby the primary branch is confined andguided and permitted by the flat bottom of the trough to have a freezigzag course limited laterally by thesides of the trough, while thereturn branch is permitted an unobstructed travel on the floor.

Seventh. In a fender or guard-plate which is situate at the receivingside of a pair of rolls to prevent flying up of the end of the red as itpasses through. Heretofore the tendency of the rod to fly up as the endpasses into the rolls has been a fruitful cause of accidents totheroller, and where more than one red is being rolled at once in asingle mill the danger often deters the roller from properly guiding theforward end of the second or third rod into the bite of the rolls. Theconsequence is that the work of rolling is retarded and there is apt tobe a large percentage of the metal lost in scrap.

With the use of my improved fender the workman can tend his rolls withperfect socurity from danger of this kind,and the work can thereforeprogress more rapidly.

The advantages of these several features are so great that with theiruse I have been onabled to roll three rods at once in a single mill. Ithas heretofore been the usual practice to roll only one red at a time,seldom as many as two.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a plan view of a rod-rolling mill constructed according tothe principles of my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged verticallongitudinal section on the line a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlargedvertical cross'section on the line 1 g of Figs. 1 and 2, showing theguide-trough and the fender. Fig. t is an cnlarged vertical crosssection on the line 2 .c of Fig. 1.

Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each.

In the drawings, 2, 3, l, and 5 represent pairs of rolls of a wire-rodmill. 0 is the lloor of the mill on the delivery side of the rolls 3,and 1 is the floor of the mill on the delivery side of the rolls 2. Therod passes from the rolls 5 in a rcflexed course to the rolls l, thenceto the rolls 3, and thence through the rolls 2, whence it passes in adirect line to the reel on which it is wound. There are more rolls thanthese generally used in a rodmill; but I have shown a sufficient numberto illustrate the principles of my invention. In its passage throughthese rolls the elongation of the rod forms loops at b, which, as theyelongate, tend to spread over the floor, and it is the purpose of myinvention to guide them, as I have already explained. One or both ofthese loops may be provided with guides ac cording to my invention, andinstead of arranging the guides differently they may be similarlyarranged, as will be readily understood, since I have shown two modes ofarrangement in the same mill simply for the purpose of more clearlyillustrating my invention.

The floor (l of the mill is inclined, as shown in Fig. 2, theinclination being greater than two degrees from the horizontal-say aboutsix or more degrees-so that the wire loop as it elongates in passingfrom one pair of rolls to the next shall travel easily down the inclinedfloor without stopping or becoming kinked, and shall be impelled by thepositivelyacting motive force of the primary rolls 3 or 5. I believethat in order to accomplish this result satisfactorily it is necessarythat the inclination should be greaterthan two degrees. I employ guidetroughs or channels 7 and 8, leading from the delivery side of the rolls8 and 5, for the purpose of guiding the loops a and I), the primarybranches of which travel in the guides, while the other branches extendback to the rolls 2 and 4-, respectively. I show the trough 8 set orsunk in the floor of the mill, so as to bring the top of the trough on alevel with or to decrease its distance from the floor, thus preventingentirely or to a great degree the bending of the hot wire loop, and Ishow the guide 7 laterally inclined to the axes of the rolls, thepurpose being to cause the branch of the loop to bear against the sideof the guide, thus the better preventing it from flying over the floor.This lateral inclination also directs the loop over to a position on thefloor more nearly opposite to the second pair of rolls, and thus causesthe loop to take up less room on the floor. I also show the guide 7 seton the iloor. The bottoms of both guides 7 and S are preferably flat, asshown in Fig. 4-, since I have found this form the best for guiding theloops and preventing tangling when more than one red is rolled at once.If desired, the milllloor may be inclined on both sides of the rolls forthe purpose of guiding the loops. I have shown it inclined on one sideonly, because that is sufficient to illustrate the principles of myinvention.

At the delivery side of the rolls 2, and extending thence toward thereel, is a guide, 9, which is unlike the guides 7 and Sin function,because it does not guide a loop of the red, but the end of the rodpasses directly through the guide 9. It is sunk in the floor of themill, and in this way I render the overfecd of the wireless liable tobend and tangle.

10 are the guards or fenders which I em ploy for preventing the rear endof the rod from flying upward or laterally as it passes through therolls. The fender consists of an angled plateset with its upright sideextending upward from the floor between the course of the second branchof the loop and thepo sition of the roller, and preferably having acover extending, over the loop. As the end of the rod emerges from therolls 3 or 5, the roller seizes it with his tongs, throws the loop overthe cover of the fender, so that it shall fall to the floor beneath thecover, as shown in the drawings,and places the end of the loop in thepair of rolls 2 or 4. To make this operation easier, the fender ispreferably downwardly tapered in height from the rolls, and

also inclined on the top laterally, as shown in Fig. 3. As the end ofthe rod passes through the'rolls 2 or 4,the fender keeps it from flyingup or toward the roller, who may therefore with security stand by therolls and reach over the passing rods for the purpose of inserting theforward end of an incoming rod into the bite of the rolls. The fendermay be modified in form and size.

My invention is susceptible of modifications in various ways withoutdeparting from the principles thereof, as stated in the followingclaims. It may also be applied to mills for rolling hoop-iron. I desireto cover such uses by the term rod-mill.

I am aware of Letters Patent to McOallip, No. 331,516, dated December 1,1885, and do not herein desire to cover, broadly, anything therein shownand described. In said patent is shown the usual horizontal mill-floor,on which the rod-loop is received and distributed by hooker-boys, and ashort overfeed regulator is used in conjunction with a repeater simplyto guide the loop to the level of the horizontal floor, where it isreceived and drawn away from the rolls by the hookerboys, there being insaid patent no inclined mill-floor or other means whereby the gravity ofthe loop and the force of the rolls are utilized to distribute the loopafter it leaves the overfeed regulator.

I claim 1. In a wire-rod mill, the combination,with the main mill-floorhaving an inclined surface which extends'in a plane transversely to therolls, substantially as described, of a series of rolls arranged ondifferent lines of feed,

whereby the propelling force of the rolls and the gravity of the loopare utilized to cause the loop to travel freely over .the floor,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a rod-mill, the combination, with the rolls and a receivingmill-floor, of an open guide through or channel sunk in the millfloorand extending from the rolls, substantially as and for the purposesspecified.

3. In a rod-mill, the combination, with two sets of rolls arranged ondifferent lines of feed and the mill-floor, of an open sunken guidetrough or channel arranged on the delivery side of the primary rolls andleading therefrom for the purpose of guiding the primary branch of theloop, substantially as and for the purposes specified. I

. 4. In a wire-rod mill, the combination, with the main mill-floorhaving an inclined surface extending in a plane transversely to therolls, substantially as described, of a series of rolls arranged ondifferent lines of feed,whereby the propelling force of the rolls andthe gravity of the loop are utilized to cause the loop to travel freelyover the floor, and a guide extending along the said inclined main floortransversely to the delivery side of the primary rolls and adapted toguide the primary branch of the loop, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

5. In a rod-mill, the combination, withtwo sets of rolls arranged ondifferent lines of feed, of a mill-floor'having a downwardly andobliquely inclined guide extending along said floor from the deliveryside of the primary rolls, substantially as and for the purposesspecified.

6. In a rod-mill, the combination, with the rolls, of a plate-fenderarranged in the line of i the feed, substantially as shown anddescribed.

7. In a rod-mill, the combination, with two sets of rolls arranged ondifferent lines of'feed, of a plate guard or fender arranged in thecircuit between the rolls, substantially as and for the purposesspecified. I

8. In a rod-mill, the combination, with two sets of rolls arranged ondifferent lines of feed, of an inclined plate guard or fender arrangedin the circuit between the rolls, substantially as and for the purposesspecified.

9. In a wire-rod mill, the combination, with two sets of rolls arrangedon different lines of feed, of a single branch guide trough or c annelhaving a flat bottom extending along one mill-fioor from thedeliveryside of the primary set of rolls only and transversely therefrom and the mill-floor at the side of said guide trough or channel,whereby the primary branch of the loop is confined and guided andpermitted by the flat bottom to have a free course restricted laterallyby the sides of the trough or channel, while the return branch ispermitted to travel freely on the flooroutside the limits of thechannel, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 1st day of May, A.D. 1888.

HENRY ROBERTS.

\Vitnesses:

THOMAS W. BAKEWELL, W. B. CORWIN.

IIS

